Random pleating of fabric



Se t. 9, 1958 Filed Aug. 5, 1954 H. GUENTHER ETAL RANDOM PLEATING OFFABRIC 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent RANDOM PLEATING 0F FABRICHermann Guenther, Mendenhall, Pa., and Robert C. Squier, Newark, DeL,assignors to Joseph Bancroft & Sons Company, Wilmington, DeL, acorporation of Delaware Application August 3, 1954, Serial No. 447,614

8 Claims. (Cl. 223--28) This invention relates to pleating, crinkling,or rufiling of fabrics. Although, as just indicated, the novel effectsobtainable according to the present invention may be described byvarious different terms, for simplicity in the following description,the term pleating is used.

The invention is especially concerned with a random pleating effect, i.e., a pleating of which the pleats are of random width and also ofrandom length.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an effective andsimple method and equipment for randomly pleating fabrics, according towhich the pleating operation is carried on continuously during thepassing of a fabric web through the apparatus.

It is also an object of the invention to provide for impartingdurability to the pleating effect produced so that the pleats willwithstand laundering and extensive use over a prolonged period withoutsubstantial loss of the original effect.

According to the invention the pleating lines extend transversely of thefabric web, and another object of the invention is the .provision of amethod and equipment for varying the size of the pleats in differentregions transversely of the fabric web. In one preferred embodiment, thepleats in the region toward one edge of the web are relatively small ascompared with the pleats toward the opposite edge of the web, therebyproviding a piece of fabric which not only has the pleasing effect whichis characteristic of the random pleating of this invention, but whichfurther is especially well suited for use in circular skirts, in whichit is desirable to have a more pronounced gathering of the fabric at theedge used at the waistline, as compared with the edge used at thehemline.

How the foregoing and other objects and advantages are attained willappear more fully from the following description referring to theaccompanying drawings, in which-- Figure l is an outline elevationalview of certain portions of the equipment used according to the presentinvention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken generally as indicated bythe line 22 on Figure 1, with certain parts omitted for clarity;

Figure 3 is a further enlarged sectional view taken substantially asindicated by the section line 3-3 on Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view of certain parts shown in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 but indicating a differentcondition of operation.

Referring now to the drawings, the numerals 6 and 7 designate the'tworolls of a pair of rolls between which the fabric F to be treated ispassed.- The rolls are pressed toward each other and thus effectpositive feed of the fabric from the entrance to the exit nip thereof.

As best seen in Figures 3 and 5, a pair of doctor blades 8 and 9 arearranged in the exit nip of the rolls and are spaced from each other todefine a channel into which ice the fabric is fed and packed by therolls 67. These doctor blades project from upper and lower plates 10 and11 which define a continuation of the fabric-receiving channel, theplates 10 and 11 being appropriately mounted on supporting structureincluding the upright angle members 12 which are arranged one at eachend of the rolls.

At the delivery edge of the channel in which the fabric is packed forpleating, a series of yielding discharge gate elements 13 are provided,each of these gate elements being pivotally mounted along an axis 14.The gate elements are adapted to be weighted as by placement of a bar orrod-type weight 15 upon the upper side of the gate.

The fabric is adapted to be heated while it is packed within thepleating channel and for this purpose heater elements are preferablyassociated with both, the upper and the lower plates 10 and 11. Suchheater elements are indicated at 16 and 17 on Figures 3 and 5.

As the pleated fabric is delivered from the discharge edge of thepleating channel, it is received on the curved support and guide 18,from which the fabric is drawn into the heater 19 which may be of anyappropriate type adapted to heat the fabric and thus fix the pleatedfinish under slack conditions. For instance the heater 19 may be of theloop or festoon type.

With the foregoing general description of the equipment in mind,attention is now directed to the following description of a typicalpleating operation.

An impregnant capable of fixing the pleated effect upon heating of theimpregnated fabric is first applied to the fabric web. Such impregnantmay comprise any one of a wide variety of materials, for instancemelamine type resin materials. Usually such impregnation is effected byapplication of an aqueous solution of the resin materials, followed bydrying the fabric to provide a moist condition. The impregnated andmoist fabric is then fed between the rolls 67 which feed the fabric intothe pleating channel formed between the doctor blades 89 and the plates10-11. In initiating this operation, a board or other member dimensionedto fit the pleating channel is inserted in the channel from thedischarge edge thereof, as indicated at B in Figures 1, 2 and 3. Theinner edge of this member B serves as a base against which the fabric ispacked as it is delivered into the pleating channel from the rolls 6 and7. In Figures 3 and 5 the fabric is shown within the channel in asomewhat diagrammatic manner. In actual practice the several bends orpleats of the fabric will pack together until the channel is virtuallysolidly packed with fabric bent upon itself in a somewhat random manner,thereby providing the random pleating effect hereinabove referred to. Asthe feed of the fabric into the channel progresses the member B ispermitted to move edgewise' out of the discharge edge of the pleatingchanel, and when the channel is completely filled the member B isremoved and the operation then continues so long as the feed iscontinued.

Upon removal of the member B, the discharge gate elements 13 drop downto the position indicated in Figure 5 and thus provide a point ofreaction against which the packing of the fabric in the pleating channelwill continue. Also as shown in Figure 5, the fabric will of course becontinuously discharged between the gate elements 13 and the extremeedge of the lower plate 11. It will be understood that during normaloperation the pleating channel is completely filled or packed with thepleated fabric, all the way back into the exit nip between the rolls 6and -7.

The heater elements 16 and 17 serve to dry the pleated and packed fabricas it advances in the pleating channel. In this connection it is pointedout that the proportions of the pleating channel, especially the widththereof from the exit nip of the rolls to the discharge edge of the channel is preferably sufficient to provide for at least substantiallycomplete drying of the pleated fabric before it is discharged from thepleating channel. This is of importance in ensuring that the pleatingeffect will be retained during the subsequent handling of the fabric totransfer it to and pass it through the heating or curing oven, such asindicated at 19. Indeed, in some instances, at least a portion of thesetting or curing may even take place within the pleating channel.

In a typical case the heater elements are arranged to provide forheating of the fabric within the pleating channel to a temperature offrom about 130 F. to about 250 F. Moreover, in a typical installationthe pleating channel may have a height of about from inch to about inch,and a width at least as great as about 6 inches, so that the length offabric in the channel will be something of the order of 20 to 70 timesthe width of the channel, i. e., the distance from the exit nip of therolls to the discharge edge of the channel.

The size and sharpness of the pleating effect will vary according to theweight of the discharge gate elements 13 and the weights 15 appliedthereto. By increasing the weighting of the gate elements the size ofthe pleats will on the average be diminished and the sharpness ofpleating will be increased.

By sectionalizing the gate elements 13, this weighting may be used atdifferent region transversely of the fabric web, thereby furtheraccentuating the random effect of the pleating.

In one preferred arrangement, the weighing of the discharge gates isprogressively increased from one edge of the fabric web toward theopposite edge thereof, the result of which is to produce a pleating inwhich the average pleat dimension is greater toward one edge of thefabric than toward the opposite edge thereof, this being especiallyuseful in the production of a pleated fabric for use in a circular skirtas hereinabove mentioned. The difference in pleating or packing pressurein different regions of the fabric may be set up by using heavierweighting on the gate elements 13 toward one edge of the fabric, ascompared with the weighting of the gate elements toward the other edgeof the fabric.

It is also contemplated that in the production of a fabric having a morepronounced gathered effect toward one edge than toward the oppositeedge, the differential effect be periodically inverted or transposed asbetween the two opposite edges of the fabric. In this way one section ofa fabric web will have the wider pleats at one edge and the succeedingsection will have the wider pleats at the opposite edge. of the wide andnarrow pleating effects throughout the length of a long fabric web willenable the rolling up of such a web without producing an excessivelylopsided roll.

After the drying operation which occurs in the pleating chamber, thepleating is sufficiently fixed to permit feed of the fabric under lowtension without loss of the pleating effect and the effect is thereforeretained during such feed of the fabric to and through the curer,in'which the fabric temperature is raised sufficiently to set or fix theresin or other impregnant used in the initial impregnation of thefabric. Heating the fabric in the curer from about 250 F. to about 400F. for a time of from 100 minutes to 1 minute is ordinarily sufficientfor this purpose.

The invention is applicable to fabrics of a wide variety of typesincluding cellulosic fabrics such as cotton and certain rayon materials.It may also be used with other synthetic fabrics such as nylon, etc.

The nature of the impregnant employed may also be varied withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, the important considerationhere being that the impregnant be capable of fixing the pleated effectupon heating the impregnated fabric.

The apparatus herein disclosed may also be employed Repeated repetitionof this transposition for imparting random pleated effects to fabrics towhich an impregnant has not been applied.

In connection with the process herein disclosed it is pointed out thatthe invention also contemplates the imparting of random pleated effectsto fabrics which have been previously treated to impart certain othereffects. Thus, it is contemplated that a fabric may be impregnated anddried to a moist condition and then subjected to calendering orembossing, as by calendering or embossing rolls. According to theinvention, such a fabric, prior to curing, is subjected to the randompleating operation of the present invention and is thereafter curedwhereby a random pleated effect is superimposed upon the calendered orembossed fabric, and both effects fixed by the same curing. Whenoperating in this way, it may be desired to re-moisten the fabricbetween the calendering or embossing and the pleating, depending uponthe extent to which the fabric is dried as a result of the calenderingor embossing itself.

We claim:

1. A method for imparting a durable pleated effect to fabric comprisingapplying to the fabric an aqueous solution of an impregnant capable offixing the pleated effect upon heating the impregnated fabric,continuously passing the impregnated fabric while moist between a pairof pressure rolls, continuously delivering the still moist fabric inunpleated form from the exit nip of the pressure rolls directly into oneedge of a confined chamber having a yielding discharge gate at the edgeremote from said exit nip, whereby the fabric is folded and pressurepacked in said chamber and thereby randomly pleated, heating the fabricwhile packed in said chamber, the heating being at least sufficient tosubstantially dry the fabric, continuously delivering the pleated anddried fabric from said chamber through said discharge gate under theinfluence of the action of the pressure rolls which deliver the fabricinto said chamber, and thereafter heating the fabric in slack conditionto fix the pleated effect.

2. A method according to claim 1 in which the packing pressure appliedto the folded fabric in said chamber is different in different regionsacross the width of the fabric.

3. A method according to claim 1 in which the packing pressure appliedto the folded fabric in said chamber is greater in a region toward oneside edge of the fabric as compared with a region toward the other sideedge of the fabric, and further in which the relatively high and lowpacking pressure regions are periodically transposed as between the twoside edges of the fabric.

4. Apparatus for imparting a durable pleated effect to a moist fabriccarrying an impregnant capable of fixing the pleated effect upon heatingthe fabric, said apparatus comprising, in combination with a pair ofpressure rolls, a pair of blades which are spaced apart from each otherto define a channel for receiving fabric as it is delivered from theexit nip of the rolls, one edge of each blade being adjacent to andextending along the exit nip of said rolls, and the edges of the channelremote from the roll nip having a yielding closure gate normally tendingto close the channel and yieldingly oppose the delivery of fabric fromthe channel, whereby the fabric passing through the channel is foldedand pressure packed and thereby randomly pleated, and a heaterassociated with said chamber and providing for heat transfer to thefabric packed in said chamber at least sufficient to effect substantialdrying of moist and impregnated fabric delivered into said chamber bysaid rolls.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which said yielding closure gate issectionalized to provide a plurality of gate sections arranged seriallyacross the width of the fabric in said chamber.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 and further including means providingdifferent closing force on one gate section as compared with another.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5 and further including means providingdifferent closing force on a gate section adjacent one edge of thefabric as compared with the closing force on a gate section toward theother edge of the fabric.

8. A method for imparting a durable pleated effect to fabric comprisingapplying to the fabric an aqueous solution of an impregnant capable offixing the pleated effect upon heating the impregnated fabric, impartinga mechanical finish effect to the fabric while in a moist condition,continuously passing the impregnated and mechanically finished fabricWhile in a moist condition between a pair of pressure rolls,continuously delivering the still moist fabric in unpleated form fromthe exit nip of the pressure rolls directly into one edge of a confinedchamber having a yielding discharge gate at the edge remote from saidexit nip, whereby the fabric is folded and pressure packed in saidchamber and thereby randomly pleated, heating the fabric while packed inReferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,128,618 Morgan Feb. 5, 1915 1,164,790 De Voe Dec. 21, 1915 1,402,584Elrod Ian. 3, 1922 1,789,421 Angelus Jan. 20, 1931 1,936,668 Hamilton etal. Nov. 28, 1933 2,141,235 Angeletti Dec. 27, 1938 2,769,584 Zinamon eta1. Nov. 6, 1956

